


Magnet for Trouble

by Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi



Category: Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hostage Situation, Hurt/Comfort, Magnet for Trouble - Freeform, Near Death Experiences, Pike Whump, Post-Discovery (Season 2), enterprise era, we're gonna need more bubble wrap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 15:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi/pseuds/Miss_Inquisitive_Sci_fi
Summary: "What?""I was just thinking how ridiculous you are. You didn't even leave the ship this time and you still ended up getting shot, and I’m not even going to start on the whole bleeding out over the transporter pad.”Chris sighed wearily. He didn’t find his first officer’s light ribbing amusing in the slightest. "Una... I didn't ask to be taken hostage and shot. Hell, you were there with me, neither of us expected it to go like that."Una shook her head, opened her mouth as if to criticise but promptly snapped it shut again. Chris knew the signs; she was more angry with herself than she was with him. "You walked right up to a suspect unarmed, and I let you.”





	Magnet for Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot has been born out of the idea that Christopher Pike gets into ridiculous amounts of trouble, mostly due to my fics... It turns out he doesn't even have to leave the ship to get injured and have a near death experience. Clearly the man has more lives than a cat. Pike Whump, Post Discovery Era, Hurt/Comfort.

“Is she still in there?” Captain Pike directed his query to his first officer: Number One when he arrived at her side with a security team in tow.

Commander Una kept her distance from the doorway to the canteen and turned to the newcomers. “Yes, she’s been sat at the far table for hours. Nobody's sat with her and the room is only half filled.”

Pike addressed the security team; he wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page before they proceeded. "Okay. Everyone know the score? I don’t want to see any weapons out without cause, and I don’t want this being blown out of proportion.”

“Do we believe the suspect is armed?”

Chris let Number One take this one because she'd handled the assessment. “We’ve done a complete check of weapons across the ship and all phasers are accounted for so not armed in the traditional sense. We don’t believe Ensign Rogers is dangerous or the main ring leader but we can never be too careful.”

Pike nodded his agreement at the last sentence, it was imperative that nobody went into a potentially dangerous situation without thinking about the risks involved. Caution was their most important ally even when they needed fast information.

“That’s why you guys are here. Number One and I will take a seat with Rogers and have a chat, our aim will be to judge her initial reactions to the accusations and then try and take the conversation somewhere more suitable, that is where security might have to step in.” As much as he thought the possibility unlikely the evidence was beginning to mount against the Ensign, and they couldn't ignore that.

“In the meantime though; keep a low profile, cover the exits and don’t let Rogers know you’re there for her.” Number One added.

Pike took one last look around the security team and finished up by hitting home the importance of speed and discretion. "I don’t want her more spooked than necessary, time is of the essence and we need information she and her potential partners have.”

“Understood Sirs.”

The response from the entire team was swift and confident, Pike nodded and turned to the entrance of the canteen where Una was already waiting. He moved up alongside her and steadied his nerves, speaking low and directing his query solely to his first officer. “Ready?”

Una turned to him and smiled confidently. “Always."

She took the lead and opened the door to the canteen, stepping through with an easy indifference that Pike envied sometimes. Her ability to shield emotions often rivalled even Spock, it certainly gave her an edge in situations like this.

Chris followed his first officer in and soon spotted Rogers sat on her own on a table by the window, with her back to the wall facing outwards; a perfect view of the entire room. Pike noticed her eyes flick up to them but she soon looked away and didn’t appear to take any notice of their entrance; she returned her attention to her data pad and reached down to rummage through her bag on the seat next to her.

The action set off warning bells in Pike’s mind, but the Ensign’s hand soon reappeared back on the table with nothing new in place. Rogers was still engrossed in the data pad as the command team made their way over, Pike studied her closely and she didn’t seem anxious or tipped off. He noticed the security personnel taking up various seated positions around the canteen, thankfully without drawing the attention of the Ensign. He had felt eyes on him as soon as he’d entered which often happened when he or the first officer walked into public spaces; thankfully most people had gotten back to their meals and conversations. The less eyes they had on them the better.

When they reached the table Una sat to the side of the Ensign whilst Chris took the seat directly opposite. Rogers noticed their presence immediately and her gaze shot up to land on both newcomers. Chris thought the expression sprawled over the young Ensign’s face was rather akin to a rabbit caught in the headlights. Ensign Rogers visibly straightened in her seat and turned the data pad off, she glanced nervously around the canteen and for a moment Pike thought she might actually bolt.

Thankfully her common sense won out and she returned her attention to the Captain and first officer; she visibly controlled her surprise and plastered on a polite smile. Chris managed a tight smile for appearances’ sake; if the accusations and mounting evidence turned out to be true though… It didn’t even bare thinking about and yet investigate it they must; it was why he and Una were here after all.

“Captain, Commander.” Rogers stuttered. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“That depends Ensign.” Chris relaxed back in his chair and followed Una’s lead to keep the atmosphere light. Innocent until proven guilty, although Pike had a bad feeling about all of this. “We were wondering if you could help explain some irregularities in your recent communication history.”

Rogers was still sat straight as a steel rod, although when Chris mentioned communication history she flinched which both Pike and Una caught. The Ensign composed herself and held his eye contact which was impressive under the circumstances, most people squirmed under his stare not to mention Una’s… Una was burning a hole right through Rogers but the young Ensign was ignoring her entirely and focussing on Pike.

When she answered it was with a steady voice. “What kind of irregularities?”

Smart. She wasn’t willing to open up to or admit to anything; she wanted to see if they were just fishing. In a sense they were. They didn’t have all the facts but things were starting to point to the worst case scenario; that Ensign Rogers was in league with the very people they were trying to take down.

Pike leaned forward a little, he glanced at Una and saw her nod minutely. Time to play their card and see how Rogers would react to what they knew. “The kind that involves encrypted messages being sent between you and the last known position of the terrorists on Tevok II. Who are you in contact with down there?”

Rogers expression flipped completely; her face turned ashen and her hands fell into her lap. Chris watched the reaction carefully and was disappointed to see all the signs of guilt; he didn’t like to think ill of crew members. Even somebody he didn’t know well, like Rogers, was still a stab in the gut. It was a violation and betrayal of Starfleet, not to mention the personal betrayal of the crew. Una saw everything he had seen, her expression turned frosty and she straightened in her chair, treating the person in front of her as the enemy rather than a crew member.

“Did you see what was inside the messages?” Rogers queried, her voice was a little shaky but still composed. She wasn’t glancing around the area and she hadn’t seemed to have clocked the security team. No, she stared directly at Pike. 

Chris smiled incredulously feeling half amused. Rogers was being accused of something and here she was trying to turn the interrogation back on them. Honestly they hadn’t broken through the encryption on the majority of the messages but he wasn’t about to let Rogers know that. Una wasn’t amused in the slightest. She leaned forwards in her chair and almost slammed her hands down onto the surface; it was enough to get Rogers attention on her.

“We’re asking the questions here Ensign. Now you’re in serious trouble so you better start playing ball.” Ah, the classic good cop, bad cop routine. It amused Chris that Una always went straight into the bad cop role.

Chris’ amusement was obliterated when Rogers glared at Number One coldly, there was something in that stare that was setting off alarm bells and he had a sudden sense of danger. He never ignored his instincts.

“I’m not the one in trouble.” There was a small metallic clunk under the table and suddenly Rogers snapped her gaze back to Pike, whose bad feeling had just grown into a full on fight or flight response. Una picked up on the atmosphere too and she looked about set to stand and call the security team over, that was until Rogers played her card.

“If either of you move or say a word to the security team I’ll cut the Captain in half.”

A stunned silence followed Rogers' declaration. Pike exchanged a nervous glance with Una before turning his attention back to the Ensign. No shakes, no tremors, just determination; as far as he could tell the threat was credible. That didn't change the fact that she couldn't have a weapon; they had made sure.

“With what?” he eventually voiced, happy that he sounded more or less steady despite his potential perilous situation. 

Rogers kept her composure and held his gaze, her hands still hidden from view. “I’ve got a phaser pointed directly at your chest, under the table. It’s on the highest setting.”

Chris swallowed and saw Una stiffen out of the corner of his eye, they both knew the implications if Rogers was telling the truth. Una forced herself to remain calm and collected, she didn't sound as confident as her declaration suggested. “You’re bluffing. All the phasers on Enterprise have been accounted for.”

Rogers' gaze flicked to Una. “This weapon didn’t come from Enterprise.”

_Well shit._ They hadn't even considered that possibility. A million thoughts ran through Pike's head, like how good of a shot was the Ensign? What kind of phaser was it and where exactly was it aimed? Could he flip the table before she fired? Would she fire? How many people were behind him and in the line of fire? There were too many unknowns to do anything so he just sat and appraised Rogers, trying to work out if she was telling the truth or not.

Una also seemed to be thinking through the same things, and she also didn't look entirely convinced that there even was a weapon. It was awfully convenient to have a phaser on hand to get out of being caught. Besides where did the phaser even come from? And how did Rogers pull it without either of them noticing? Pike's mind flew back to Rogers reaching into the bag when they'd first walked in and his heart dropped, could she have been reaching for a weapon then?

Rogers noticed they were both having a hard time believing her; she scowled. “You really don’t believe me?”

Pike and Una shared another look, they were both taking it seriously enough to follow instructions for now but it was hard to believe something you couldn't see.

Rogers took their reactions as an answer and turned to Una. “Knock my papers on the floor. Take a look whilst you’re down there."

Una nodded and did just that. The papers fluttered to the floor and nobody seemed to notice the display. Just before she went to pick them up Rogers issued another threat. "Make one move I don’t like and I start shooting.”

Una scowled darkly but bit her tongue, Chris had been worried she would snap something back but thankfully her sense of danger prevailed. Chris watched Una pick up the papers from the floor, her head turned to Rogers under the table and she tensed up completely.

Pike closed his eyes and took a deep breath; her reaction had just told him everything he needed to know. When Una got back to her seat she was pale and rigid; she placed the papers back on the table and made sure to make slow movements. Her eyes darted between Chris and Rogers nervously.

Eventually she looked at him, her eyes were wide and unusually a spark of fear flashed underneath the surface. Chris already knew what she was going to say. “She’s telling the truth.”

So now they had an armed incident on their hands, Chris and Una hadn't come armed and the security personnel still weren't aware of the deteriorating situation. Pike turned his attention back to Rogers and he couldn't help but focus on the uniform she was wearing, and more specifically the badge that signified her as Starfleet. Would she really shoot him?

“Okay so you’re armed, but are you really prepared to use it? Taking a life is no small thing.”

Rogers sighed heavily and she narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you think I know that? The cause has already forced me to take that step. I’ve come too far now…”

Pike’s blood ran cold; they hadn’t known Rogers had killed before. He and Una were completely out of their depth here, and they had underestimated this situation completely. Una looked as concerned as he was by the comment; she shot him a worried glance and Chris could see she was taking the situation far more seriously. As if an armed suspect wasn’t bad enough, but an armed suspect who had killed before…

Rogers noticed their anxiousness and change in attitude. “You didn’t know?” She sighed and breathed out heavily. “Well I suppose you would have found out sooner or later anyway, and it’s important you know I won’t hesitate to pull this trigger if I’m forced to.”

The evidence they had collected had only pointed to Rogers being in communication with the movement, but from that confession it was clear that she was far more involved than they realised. “You haven’t just been feeding them information, you’ve been helping them. Why?”

“That doesn’t matter now.” Rogers snapped and glanced around sheepishly. “All you need to know is I believe in the cause, I have done since I was a child and I’m prepared to die for it.”

“And kill.” Una spat bitterly.

Rogers nodded and her eyes fell back on Pike. “Yes.”

The conviction in that one word scared Chris; he knew that Rogers was capable of pulling the trigger despite the badge she wore on her chest. It was a strange feeling knowing there was a gun pointing at him even though he couldn’t see it. He glanced around at the people at the nearby tables nervously, no-one had any idea about the amount of danger they were in, this could turn into a blood bath in no time.

Chris returned his attention back to the problem at hand. “Think about what you’re doing here. Kidnapping, weapons charges, espionage, treason. If you decide to go down this path there’s no coming back.”

“Haven't you been listening? I’ve already passed the point of no return. I can't go back.” Another nasty reminder that the Ensign had deep ties with the terrorist movement, and was more than just a sympathising spy.

Una kept shooting Chris worried glances, knowing he was just a flinch away from death. “What now? The security team are going to start to get suspicious.”

"Are either of you armed?" Chris and Una shook their heads. Rogers appraised them both and realised she would have seen phasers attached to their hips, they simply hadn't thought that their suspect _could_ have been armed.

"Okay, then this is what's going to happen. In a minute both of you are going to put your hands behind your heads.”

As plans went it didn’t sound very encouraging or smart but then who was Pike to argue when he wasn’t the one armed. "Then what?"

"Then I'm going to take the other weapons out of play, and take control of the room." She noticed their stricken faces. "If you and everyone else do as they're told then there's no need for anyone in here to get hurt."

"There's no way this ends well for you Rogers." Una snarled.

The Ensign glanced between them both and hardened her resolve. "You let me worry about that. Now hands on your heads, both of you."

Pike was wary of the weapon set to steal his life so he didn't make any sudden moves. He slowly lifted his hands from his lap and placed them behind his head, watching Una do the same. He had his back to the majority of the room but he heard the chatter die down and mutterings begin.

Rogers soon made her move; she brought her hands out from underneath the table and with it came a phaser. She pointed it in the Captain's direction so soon Chris was staring down the barrel of a high powered energy weapon. There was no question about it; at this range and the way it was pointed at his head any shot would be lethal. It was one thing imagining a weapon pointing at him but this suddenly made it all real; his heart began to pound madly in his chest.

"Nobody move or the Captain dies!" Rogers yelled out. Her eyes darted between the security personnel, making it clear she knew they were armed and where they all were.

Stunned silence followed the announcement, everything in the canteen stopped and all eyes were on their table. Chris couldn't see many of the reactions, but from the few people in his line of sight he could tell they were as shocked as he and Una had been. They looked like they hardly believed this was really happening; Pike knew the feeling well.

Rogers glanced around the space nervously, making sure everyone was doing as they were told. She suddenly noticed the security teams hand’s were slowly moving towards their holstered weapons. Rogers kept her lethal weapon pointed at the Captain and screamed another order.

"I want all weapons on the floor! Kicked over to the corner behind me." The security personnel clearly didn't respond to the command because Rogers yelled out impatiently. "Now!"

Chris didn’t hear any signs of movement or that the barked orders were being followed. Rogers noticed their eyes flick to the command team, and realised they were awaiting orders before they were willing to follow the directions of an armed suspect. Rogers was looking increasingly more annoyed the longer the seconds dragged out, she shook her head and clenched her jaw at Chris.

"Tell them to do as I say, or I swear I'll shoot you."

Pike didn't want to order people to give up their only form of defence in an armed incident, especially not for the sake of his life. It was this thought that made him stall. Una however took the threat against her Captain far more seriously. 

"Do as she says."

Chris snapped to Una, surprised she was circumventing him. She stared back and raised her eyebrow at him incredulously, knowing exactly what he had been thinking and how little he valued his own life.

"What? I'm not about to let her kill you. Not to mention the collateral damage." She indicated to the people behind Chris; the majority of the room was in the line of fire from where Rogers was sat. As usual his first officer had a point and was right, he let out a sigh and made it known to the security teams to follow Una’s commands.

Chris heard the sounds of items hitting the floor, then scraping as the weapons skidded towards Rogers. Pike saw them appear out of the corner of his eye and after all four weapons were accounted for Rogers looked a little less tense. She still had her weapon pointed squarely at his head though, which wasn’t lost on any of the occupants in the room.

“Okay good.” She muttered and got to her feet, keeping her aim steady and her back to the wall. “Now I want everyone but the Captain on the floor with your hands behind your heads.”

Chris stayed where he was and he could hear that everyone else was doing the same. Rogers glanced around the room and noticed people were just staring dumbly around, not knowing if they should follow the order or who would first. Rogers’ clenched her hands around the phaser and her lips pressed together in a thin displeased line.

“If I have to say it again I’m going to start putting holes in people.” She addressed the threat to Number One, whilst keeping the phaser pointed at Pike.

Una locked her jaw and visibly bit her tongue to refrain from snapping back like she wanted to. She slowly pushed the chair away from the table and dropped to the floor, setting off the sounds of further chairs doing the same. It wasn’t long before everyone had followed the instruction and was on the floor, face down with their hands locked behind their heads. Chris glanced down at Una; he could see how tense she was from the lines in her shoulders and the way her hands were clenched together.

Rogers flicked her attention back to Pike and she looked more in control of the situation, and content that the rest of the room was under control. Chris realised this was where things could go very wrong, he had the nasty feeling that they were about to go for a wander. That meant more people in danger, more lives threatened and so many more things that could set Rogers off. He would have to try and take the phaser out of the equation as soon as possible, but the canteen was a no go. Rogers had the perfect view of the room and too many people could be caught in the cross-fire. If the plan was for he and her to go off alone then that would be where he would make his move, when she got too overconfident and made a mistake.

Rogers flicked the weapon upwards. “On your feet."

Chris scowled at the weapon and the Ensign holding it, he corrected Ensign to traitor in his head morbidly. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. He slowly got to his feet, keeping his hands on his head and eyed the phaser the entire way; it tracked his head expertly.

Rogers made sure everyone was still on the floor and facing downwards before stepping out from behind her cover and issuing another order. "Alright, turn around. Keep your hands where they are."

Chris swallowed down the scathing retort he wanted to voice and obediently followed the command. He stopped turning when he was facing the doorway; he saw that everyone was on the floor and had their eyes facing downwards. Number One had been right to worry; there had been a lot of people who could have been hit if Rogers had started shooting. Pike had to remind himself that she still could.

He heard footsteps approaching and suddenly there was a presence behind him. Pike tensed up when he felt the phaser brush again the nape of his neck and a strong grip landed on his shoulder. 

"The Captain and I are going to take a walk now. Anyone follows and I put a hole through his head." Chris gritted his teeth and clenched his hands, forcing himself to stay in place, he despised being in such a complaint position and he hated being used as a human shield.

Rogers didn't wait for a response from the people on the ground, she simply pushed the Captain forward and they made their way edgily across the room. The doors swished open when they reached the exit and Chris was pushed through and out into the mercifully empty corridor.

He felt the phaser being removed from his neck and jumped when a shot rang out, he waited for the pain and was a little surprised when none come. He then smelt burning metal and sparks from fused circuits; he realised Rogers must have blown a hole in the door controls which would slow Number One and the security team down.

The phaser was back against his neck in an instant, it felt warm against his skin and was a nasty reminder of the high setting it was on.

"Move." The order came with an unpleasant shove causing Chris to almost lose his balance.

He managed to keep his hands in place even though instinct had him want to reach out and correct his tumble. Chris only took a few steps before the controlling hand was back on his shoulder.

"Where are we going?" He probed his captor, mind spinning and trying to work out how he could gain the upper hand here.

Surprisingly Roger's answered although she sounded distracted. "The transporter room."

Chris frowned, there weren't many places she could run to from there. The logical conclusion was that Rogers was going to try and make contact with the terrorist movement.

"You're going down to the planet? To them?"

"Yes." Rogers answered succinctly, making it clear the conversation was over.

Rogers steered him around a corner and barked at a few shocked crew members, forcing them back into rooms until they'd passed. Thankfully the crew all did as they were told, seeing their Captain's perilous position was reason enough and brought their obedience immediately. Chris tensed when he felt the weapon twitch against his neck, Rogers could move it to aim at someone else any moment and that might leave her open to be disarmed. Sadly she didn’t make any mistakes.

When they passed the retreating crewman Pike noticed Rogers grow more tense, the grip on his shoulder tightened and the phaser pressed harder into the nape of his neck. She was clearly getting antsy; it was a lengthy walk to the transporter room and they were bound to come across more personnel along the way.

Chris wanted to keep Rogers distracted and he used the opportunity to try and gather more information about her involvement with the terrorists, she had said something earlier which had been playing on his mind ever since.

"You mentioned you've believed in the cause since you were a child. How is that possible?"

"I grew up on Tevok. They took me in when my parents were killed by the corrupt government in place."

Pike frowned, how on earth had this not been flagged up. How had anyone missed this? Clear links to a group like that should have never gone unnoticed and with Rogers being born on Tevok...

"I don't understand. How could-"

Rogers understood what he was about to ask and she interrupted impatiently. "My records were altered, my Starfleet papers don't hold anything relating to Tevok."

Pike stilled visibly and the only thing that kept him walking was the jab of the phaser, Rogers had joined Starfleet under false information and most likely a false pretence. That thought really didn't sit right with him. She had infiltrated Starfleet from the beginning.

"You always planned on betraying Starfleet." He surmised coldly, how had he and Number One judged this so badly. No wonder why Rogers hadn't looked remorseful, no wonder why she was okay with threatening the lives of her crew. They weren't really family to her, it had all been a lie.

"You have to be Starfleet to betray it. I never was." She replied callously. 

If Pike had doubted she would pull the trigger he really didn't now, Rogers had been groomed and most likely brainwashed since she was a child. This went a lot deeper than he had ever expected.

Suddenly there was an electrical buzz in the air and then a shimmering orange light sprang to life in front of them, a few metres shy of their position. It crackled and fizzled but remained in place, stretching across the whole corridor. Pike was abruptly pulled to a stop, he yelped when the collar at his neck restricted his breathing for a few seconds. They both heard the snap and hiss of a second energy barrier fall into place behind them.

Rogers pressed the phaser against his head pushing it forward and held him steady, moving in closer and tensing up behind him. Pike could imagine her worried eyes darting backwards and forwards.

"What the hell is this?" She whispered angrily.

Pike licked his lips nervously and glanced at the energy field, which had now trapped him in place with a dangerous killer. "Force fields." He replied gravely.

Chris would have used the distraction to his advantage if Rogers had let him, but sadly she didn’t make any tactical errors. The grip on his shoulder was strong and the weapon out of sight and held steadily. He didn’t have much of a chance to think about options before Rogers took another one away from him. Pike fell heavily to the floor and grunted when the unexpected kick hit the back of his legs, his knees took the brunt of the fall and if it weren’t for Rogers strong grip on his shoulder he would have keeled over and face planted the floor.

He had been sorely tempted to move his hands to try and balance himself, that was until he felt Rogers lean in behind him and issue a threat. “Keep your hands on your head and don’t move a muscle.”

Chris wasn’t sure if Rogers expected a response but he bit his tongue and remained silent. He sensed Rogers begin to back off and soon the phaser that had been pressed against his head lifted; although he was certain the bloody thing was still aimed directly at him and ready to fire if he moved an inch. So Pike stayed where he was, ignoring his curiosity and need to see what Rogers was up to. He had no idea how she expected to get out of this mess they were surrounded on either side by force fields; only the bridge could release them now. Rogers was about to be forced into negotiation, whether she liked it or not.

It turned out Rogers didn’t fancy waiting for the oncoming security officers. She started yelling threats behind Pike to he presumed the camera in the corridor and whoever was watching on the other end.

“Release these force fields now or I put a hole in the Captain!”

Chris let out an exasperated sigh, the threat was what Rogers had been clinging to ever since this mess had started. Something had to give, either Rogers would realise that she would be met with dead ends and give up or she would follow through on her threat. Pike knew which one he preferred. Sadly fate wasn't listening.

“You don’t think I’m serious?” Rogers called out into thin air.

Pike was about to mutter something back and potentially attempt to bring Rogers around to the fact that this was all pointless and over, that was until he heard a phaser discharge and his breath was stolen in a blinding flash of agony. The energy beam scorched the right side of his body, midway between his shoulders and hips. He cried out, mostly from shock that Rogers had actually carried out her threat and the rest from the breath-stealing pain itself.

His hands flew from his head to his wounded side, clutching at the new injury and doubling over forward from the force of the blast. He crashed forward into the floor and groaned loudly, blindly clutching at his side and willing it to stop burning. Chris wasn’t even sure how deep the wound was, if Rogers had blasted a hole through his insides as she had threatened and why on earth he hadn’t passed out yet. The pain was excruciating, all encompassing and reminded him exactly why he hated phasers. When they were set on their highest setting the beam burned through flesh, scorching and blistering the skin in its path and creating a god-awful stench of burnt skin.

The cool steel of the decking beneath his face helped to ground him in the here and now, along with the sound of Rogers yelling at him to get back on his knees. Did she think he was hugging the floor for fun?

“Come on up!” Rogers yelled out, mercilessly pulling on his upper arm and dragging him upwards.

Chris yelped out when his wound stretched from the aggressive pulling, he kept his hands clamped to his side and his teeth gritted to hold back another cry when Rogers jostled his injury. It took a lot of tugging on Rogers’ side and a lot of pain on his but eventually Chris was back on his knees, and the phaser was regrettably back against his head.

He risked a glance down at the burning injury and blanched when he saw the gory mess. The blast had burned straight through his uniform, the sides were burned into his skin. He brought his hands away and blinked down at the blood caking his hands, phaser wounds usually cauterised as they burnt but clearly something inside of him had been nicked and was bleeding nastily. Even though he didn’t fancy touching the burnt flesh, he knew that with the amount of blood seeping through his fingers he didn’t have any other choice but to apply pressure and try and stem the bleeding.

The pain was worse than before and he bit back a groan but managed to keep his hands firmly in place. He was worried that Rogers would force him to put his hands back on his head, he didn’t want to let go of the bleeding wound and he was already beginning to feel light-headed. It was a small mercy that the command never came, clearly he looked incapacitated enough for Rogers to deem him a non-threat for the moment.

“You’ve got 5 seconds to lower the force fields or I’m blasting a hole through his shoulder next.” Rogers accompanied the threat by jabbing the phaser against his right shoulder, Pike groaned and swayed against the movement and closed his eyes as a wave of nausea and agony washed over him. 

He didn’t think he could take another blast and remain conscious, and if he passed out then whose hands would stop the blood from pouring out of his side?

Pike wasn’t really expecting Rogers’ demand to be met and he completely missed her countdown; he also missed the forcefields fizzling out of existence. What he did not miss was Rogers trying to drag him to his feet, setting his side ablaze once more and causing him to yell out.

"Get up or I'll shoot you again." She hissed into his ear and jabbed the phaser near his wound, near enough to cause him to flinch and buck away from the weapon violently.

Yeah, they'd definitely underestimated Rogers. She clearly believed in her cause enough to not let her conscience get in the way of her goals, or perhaps she simply didn't have one.

He almost passed out but from the pain but Chris eventually got back to his feet, Rogers didn't give him a moment to steady himself before she was propelling him along the corridor at speed, her hand gripped his arm and practically hauled him forward. 

Pike couldn't see any other crewman in the corridors but then again he couldn't see too much of anything; his vision was beginning to blur and every few steps the world tilted dangerously. He know from those signs as well as the pounding in his head that he was beginning to suffer from blood loss, he could still feel it trickling from beneath his fingers despite his efforts to press down on the gory wound.

Suddenly the grip on his shoulder shifted and he was steered into a doorway, thankfully the doors swished open before he face planted them. His hands were occupied holding his side so his nose would have had a nasty collision. He stumbled into the room and belatedly realised that they were in the transporter room, he had lost track of how far Rogers had dragged him.

Chris was pushed into the room and forced to turn around, his vision swam and by the time it had righted itself he had his legs kicked out from under him and he crashed painfully to his knees again.

Pike cried out when the impact sent shockwaves all the way up his body, making his wound throb and causing a nasty wave of dizziness and nausea. A steadying hand gripped his shoulder until he found his balance, and he watched absently as the phaser was raised and fired at the control panel to the room, which was fused instantly by the blast.

When his vision cleared fully he found himself facing the closed doorway, he felt Roger's close by but he had other things on his mind, like not bleeding out over the floor and staying conscious.

"Keep facing that door and don't even think about moving." Roger's commanded and started to busy herself behind Pike. Chris didn't think he could make a move even if he wanted to, the blood loss was quickly sapping his strength and every time he moved the scorched skin pulled and throbbed miserably.

He focused on breathing for a few moments and tried to reduce his heart rate, wanting to regulate his blood flow and slow the rate of the precious liquid pouring out of his body. Chris heard Rogers start to mess with the controls at the transporter station, he had to try one last time to get through to her. What she knew about the terrorist movement could save a lot of lives, not to mention it could help stop further attacks.

"You don't have to go through with this. It's never too late to turn back." His voice sounded hoarse and used, and a little too shaky for his liking.

"Yeah I think it is. I've shot my Captain, there's no coming back from that." Rogers snorted with amusement. "Besides I wouldn't want to. This is my true purpose."

She still sounded convinced and with no sign of remorse, it reminded Chris that she'd been a part of this fight since childhood. Her brain had been addled for decades.

"They brainwashed you Rogers." Chris bit back a groan when a dizzy spell threatened to topple him, he closed his eyes and put more pressure on his wound until the room stopped spinning. "You were just a child when they took you."

Chris opened his eyes again and noticed that the door seemed darker, or maybe further away, he didn’t trust his blurry eyesight anymore. He glanced down at the state of his wound and blanched when he noticed how much blood was pooling on the floor; his fingers were slick with the sticky substance, and despite his best efforts the bleeding wasn't slowing. When Rogers started talking again he tried to focus on her voice but even that was becoming more distorted.

"They didn't take me, they raised me. Besides if you think about it the federation's propaganda is just like brainwashing. I bet you had your dreams set on Starfleet ever since you were old enough to see the stars.”

Even though his surroundings were all starting to blur together he did hear the message behind her argument, loud and clear, and he disagreed with it vehemently. "It's not the same and you know it.”

Chris heard Rogers stop with whatever settings she was fiddling with on the transporter terminal. He felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck, and remembered that maybe snapping at a person with a phaser who had already shot him was a pretty stupid idea.

"What I know is I believe in my cause just as much as you believe in the Federation, maybe even more so. So if you think you could talk yourself down from your principles then keep on talking.”

He knew then that whatever he said would not get through to Rogers, she was beyond words and as wrapped in her beliefs as he was. Chris knew that his own faith in the Federation was as strong today as it had ever been, even with all the things he had witnessed he still believed in the future they were striving for. If Rogers was as convicted as he was, and he had dwindling proof to suggest otherwise, then he didn’t have a chance in hell of talking her down. Not at gunpoint and not whilst he was bleeding out over the floor. Chris bit his tongue and remained silent, his silence spoke volumes for Rogers.

"Yeah I thought not.” She finished inputting her destination and moved away from the controls.

Chris perked up and almost turned around when he heard footsteps, only remembering at the last second his captor’s instructions not to move. The sudden movement didn’t cause as much pain as he would have thought, he frowned and glanced down at his wound; it still looked as nasty as ever and was still bleeding steadily. He pressed his hands harder against his side and his eyes widened when he felt no difference; he was becoming numb to the pain which was really not a good sign.

"Don't worry I won't be your problem for much longer.” Rogers words snapped him back to the fact that he still wasn’t alone in the room, he couldn’t hear footsteps anymore and the voice had floated from the transporter pad. It sounded like the Ensign was about to beam down to the planet, he only hoped Number One would have people right behind her.

"You can't run forever Rogers. It will all catch up to you in the end.” Pike managed to mutter, his weak voice didn’t sound convincing even to his own ears 

"I fancy my chances. Goodbye Captain, sorry about having to shoot you.” Rogers didn’t sound sorry at all, she delivered the farewell in a jovial tone. 

Chris didn’t give a damn, the only thing he cared about was the fact that Rogers was leaving and taking that blasted phaser with her. It didn’t take long for the sounds of a transporter beam to fill the room, and when the Captain risked a backwards glance over his shoulder he was relieved to see that the room was empty and phaser free. He turned to the transporter controls and started to get to his feet, it was important to get the transport location information to Number One as soon as possible.

Getting to his feet wasn’t as easy as it should have been, when he first started to rise he stumbled back down to the floor, leaving a bloody trail in his wake. After a lot of grunting and effort he managed to drag his body over to the console; he used the edge to lever himself up so he could see the terminal and where Rogers had transported to.

His side throbbed with each movement and he felt more precious blood trickle between his fingers, his vision was growing more hazy by the second and he knew that he needed medical help pronto. Speaking of which he became aware of some kind of commotion happening near the door. With the fused door controls whoever was on the other side would probably have to lever the doors open or something to that description.

He eventually managed to get his eyes to focus on the transporter controls. Because his vision was getting more and more blurry he didn’t believe what the transporter readings were telling him. According to the equipment Rogers had finished transporting but she hadn’t gone to the planet. She had transported inside of Enterprise; to be specific the brig.

Chris lost the strength to hold himself up any longer and he slid to the floor finally, a smile spread across his face as he realised that Number One had pulled one over on Rogers after all, they didn’t need to chase the traitor any longer. Pike's arms fell to his sides and he laid his head back on the cool floor, he distantly remembered that he should be keeping pressure on his side but when he tried to move his limbs they didn’t respond.

The room was becoming darker around him and he allowed his eyes to shut, anything to reduce the drumming in his head. Pike was partially roused by a loud clang, one which sent vibrations through the floor, and following it multiple bodies entered the room. He tried to open his eyes but even that seemed far too difficult at the moment.

He groaned when hands pressed against his side, bringing him back into the land of pain and misery for a few more minutes. Chris felt multiple hands jostle him, pressing down on the wound and applying pressure everywhere.

“Hang on Chris, we’re gonna stop this bleeding.”

He was drifting again, Chris wanted to open his eyes and see who exactly was talking to him and who was pressing into his side so damn hard. 

“Emergency transport to medical…”

Pike passed out before the transport beam enveloped him.

* * *

  
The Captain didn’t wake up again for the rest of the day, well that was what Boyce told him when he finally came to in sick-bay. The Doc showed him the gruesome scans of the injury and confirmed that the shot had in fact nicked an artery, without cauterising it, leading to a nasty phaser wound that otherwise wouldn’t have been too serious. The initial blast had missed all vital organs and bones, it hurt like a bitch but the skin had already been through the regenerator a few times and was well on its way to healing. After a few more sessions the scar would disappear entirely.

Chris had felt groggy for a long time after awakening, he blamed Boyce’s overzealousness with the drugs. Boyce had told him to quit whining or he would sedate him again which just proved Pike’s claims that he had been sedated too much already. He later learned that he’d had a blood transfusion when they beamed him in, he’d lost a hell of a lot which he’d already been aware of. Boyce hadn’t had too much trouble stabilising him when they got him into medical which was something, although Una still scolded him for bleeding out all over the transporter room floor…

She had briefed him on the events since he had lost consciousness. They’d diverted the transport beam to the brig just in time, the extra few minutes brought by using the force fields gave the crew the time to set up the rouse. Una got a little sheepish after mentioning the force fields, Pike knew she had no way of knowing that Rogers would shoot him out of hand and he was impressed with just how quickly the crew had worked to ensure the traitor didn’t get off the ship. After a few jokes about his misfortune the incident was forgotten and Una’s guilt disappeared along with it. 

Another piece of quick-thinking was placing a key-logger on the transporter controls, that meant they found out exactly where Rogers had been trying to beam to in the first place. That coupled with information gleaned from her since had helped to thwart a recent terrorist strike and reveal several members of the movement. Boyce had shooed the first officer out of sick-bay not long after their mini debrief and he had banned all work-related talk there after, he had told Chris that the ship was in good hands with Una and he was to stay out of it until he could stand up on his own. That instruction went as well as anyone could have expected.

After two days of annoying the hell out of Boyce, the nursing staff and anyone else who refused to let him near a data pad, Chris finally got Boyce to let him out of sick-bay. He had conditions of course, which made Chris feel like he actually was escaping from the joint. The number one rule was that he had to agree to bed-rest, which he fought against until he actually tried doing much of anything and almost passed out. After that sorry episode he stayed in bed in his quarters and refrained from moving too much at all. 

That was where he found himself when he heard the main door to his quarters swish open, there was only one person who had access to his room without ringing and that was Number One. 

She padded into his bedroom and smiled warmly at him, her eyes flicking over his body and not so subtly lingering on his bandaged side. This was the first time she'd been able to visit since he had returned to his quarters, honestly it was a welcome one.

"Hey."

Una's attention snapped back up to his face at his greeting, she stepped further into the room. "Hey yourself. How are you feeling?"

He dropped the data pad be had been reading on his bedside table and shrugged. "Sore, bored. The usual."

Una snorted and perched on the bed beside him. She eyed the many reports at his bedside suspiciously. "Didn't Boyce only let you out under strict instructions of bed rest?"

"I'm in bed." Chris replied with a smirk, completely dodging the question.

Una tutted and moved the data pads completely out of reach. "This isn't bed rest Chris. You're such a workaholic."

"I told you I got bored.” He shrugged unabashed. “There's only so much sleep a man can have, I can't move around much so that kind of limits my options."

On mentioning his limited mobility a somber mood descended on the room and Una placed a hand on his arm, wanting to feel for herself that he was alive and relatively well. "You nearly died 2 days ago.” She frowned at his bandages and scolded his flippant behaviour. “You should be resting and only resting."

Chris placed his hand on top of hers and smiled back at her, not in the least bit chastised and with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “I hate rest."

Una laughed and shook her head at his antics, incredulous expression in place. She pulled her hand away from his arm and began to trace down towards his many bandages. She studied him up and down and an air of amusement appeared around her. Chris noticed.

"What?"

"I was just thinking how ridiculous you are. You didn't even leave the ship this time and you still ended up getting shot, and I’m not even going to start on the whole bleeding out over the transporter pad.”

Chris sighed wearily. He didn’t find his first officer’s light ribbing amusing in the slightest. "Una... I didn't ask to be taken hostage and shot. Hell, you were there with me, neither of us expected it to go like that."

Una shook her head, opened her mouth as if to criticise but promptly snapped it shut again. Chris knew the signs; she was more angry with herself than she was with him. "You walked right up to a suspect unarmed, and I let you.”

She frowned heavily at his injured side, her fingers hovering just shy of the bandages. “We underestimated Rogers, and how far she was willing to go."

Well that was at least something they could both agree on, the constant throbbing in his side had reminded him of that every minute since. “We did.” He grimaced when the pain made itself known again. “I can't believe everyone missed her true intentions and her ties to Tevok."

Una smiled sadly and shrugged. ”She was a convincing liar."

“I can't help thinking that it's such a waste. What kind of life would she have led if she hadn't been brainwashed as a child?" In his solitude Pike had had a lot of time to think, specifically about Rogers and how people were often shaped by their past.

"I suppose we'll never know.” Chris knew that answer wasn’t enough for him or his curiosity, his first officer knew that too. She threw him a knowing smile. “We can't fix all the universe’s problems, no matter how much you want to."

Chris smiled bashfully, caught out in his brooding. ”We can try." He was always the more hopeful one out of the pair of them and Una the realist, well he would label it as pessimism but his first officer insisted that wasn’t the case.

Number One snorted with amusement and laughed, the levity only lasted until Chris gasped in pain. He had forgotten that laughing pulled his wound and new skin, it was something which was getting rather old. Una frowned at his bandages and she gripped his hand until the misery eased off of his features.

She brushed a strand of hair that had fallen over his face out of the way, and stared sadly down at him. “It always seem to be you."

Chris had just gotten a handle on the pain and had to catch up in the conversation, he eyed his first officer curiously. ”What does?"

Una rolled her eyes like it was obvious. ”It’s always you who ends up in life or death situations; getting abducted, shot, skewered and crushed, jumping on phasers..."

Chris grew increasingly more embarrassed as she reeled all of his past exploits off the list, especially the last one. That was still a sore point between the two of them and something his first officer had questioned continuously since his return from Discovery, he felt the need to defend his actions for the umpteenth time. "A 12 year old girl was holding an over-loading phaser. What would you have me do?”

He was half expecting his first officer to snap something back but his injury had clearly brought him some sympathy, instead she brushed her hand over his chest tenderly. "I would say be more careful, but I know it's in your nature to run head first into danger. Despite my best efforts to curb your enthusiasm for it."

Her raised brow at the end turned the point into an accusation, one which Chris did not agree with. "You think I have a death wish?"

"I think you are too selfless for your own good."

"There's no such as thing as being _too_ selfless." He retorted passionately.

Una tipped her head and smirked. "Command would disagree."

Chris ignored the point scored in Una’s favour and focussed on the positives. "I'm still here aren't I? Alive and mostly well."

"Not for lack of trying." Una quipped back, enjoying their verbal sparring far too much.

Pike sighed, he knew he wasn’t going to win this age-old debate that had lived with them since they’d started serving together. "You don't have to worry so much."

Una barked a laugh. "Chris that is literally my job. I've got to keep _you_ alive and trust me it is a full time occupation. I'm just fortunate you've got more lives than a cat."

“Sorry.” He smirked brazenly. It was clear to both of them that he wasn’t ever going to change.

Una appraised him seriously and her features changed, morphing into something pained and tense. "Just don't die on me yeah?"

Chris gulped, it wasn’t often he saw vulnerability in Number One so when he did he took what she was saying seriously. He knew it couldn’t be an easy job; keeping him alive and trying to make sure Enterprise had a Captain that was in one piece, especially with his track record. Pike dropped the joking tone and gripped her hand fiercely. "I'm not going anywhere Una, you know I don't give up easily."

Una lifted their conjoined hands and placed them near her mouth, closing her eyes and revelling in the promise and that for now he was still with her. When she opened her eyes Una saw that her Captain was watching her carefully, a light frown peppered his forehead almost like he was waiting for her judgement. She shook her head slowly and chuckled. "What am I going to do with you?"

Pike noticed the lighter tone and his frown fell away, to be replaced by a wicked grin. His eyes darted up and down her body, lingering in certain areas longer than others, and making sure that she was aware of his scrutiny. "I can think of a few ideas.”

She had been trying very hard not to flush, or show any other reaction to Chris’ seductive leering, so she almost missed it when he actually voiced his scandalous suggestion. Number One rolled her eyes and tried to ignore just how tempting the idea was, Chris shirtless was quite a distraction and one she had been trying very hard to ignore. She released his hand and leant back on the bed to get some distance.

Her eyebrow shot up and she tried her very best to look intimidating as she scolded him. "Boyce told you no extraneous activities."

Chris saw through her feeble attempts at subterfuge, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and smirked. “I could struggle through.”

Una chuckled at his antics despite her dedication to stay stern. There was one thing that did stop her from jumping on top of him and ravaging his face; it was the idea of what Boyce would do if he found out. "I'm sure you could but there's no way I'm breaking you further and earning the ire of Phil."

Chris groaned dramatically and tried to pull her in closer. “Come on Una. You know his bark's worst than his bite and breaking is a bit extreme don't you think?"

"Not with this newly regenerated skin." She prodded the bandaged area which made Chris gasp, proving her point for her. "Not gonna happen Pike."

Chris laid back against the pillows and huffed. He pouted disappointedly but conceded the loss all the same."Okay I'm probably still a little broken.” Pike laid out his arm across the bed. “Could you stay with me though?"

"No funny business?” She teased, she couldn’t believe he would keep his hands to himself after the flirting. Pike wasn't the only one who was affected and wanted to have a good time, if he had kept it up she would have given in.

Chris grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Cross my heart." He promised solemnly. "I just want to spend time with you, after everything you know."

Una knew there was a lot more depth to his plea when his cheeky grin faded, to be replaced by something much sadder and dare she say vulnerable. "Of course I'll stay." She laid down beside him and snuggled in close, leaning into the warmth of him. After a life or death situation they usually wound up in each other’s arms looking for comfort, and wanting to simply enjoy the things that made them feel alive.

Being by his side was the first place she had wanted to be after watching him get a hole ripped through his side. Watching Rogers pull that trigger and seeing Chris drop had felt like a stab through the gut, and knowing that she had let him wander into that situation in the first place… When she had walked into the transporter room and seen the sheer amount of blood that he had lost all over the floor, well it had terrified her if she was being honest. Una couldn’t remember a time where she had raced to sick-bay as quickly as she had after seeing that.

She shook the memories of the past away and focussed in the here and now, with Chris where he was mostly whole and definitely not bleeding out anymore. She glanced sideways at him and noted he looked relieved that she had stayed. He pulled her in close and she laid her head on his chest, far far away from his injured side and revelled in the comfort this provided. Did the silly fool think she was really going to just come and check he was still alive and leave? Pike could be an idiot sometimes, an adorable, trouble-magnetising, noble, selfless, idiot. She loved him for it.

Chris stroked Una’s hair and relaxed back into the pillow fully, his side was throbbing less now and having Number One here had improved his mood greatly. The calm relaxed atmosphere didn’t last long, it was broken by his first officer chuckling. Chris knew that laugh from past experience and it made him nervous.

"What?" He frowned down at Una, confused and wary of her new found levity.

Una glanced up at him with a mischievous grin spread widely across her face. She stifled her laughter and turned on her side to face him properly, a devious twinkle sparkling in her eyes. "Oh, I was just thinking about how Boyce is going to react when I tell him about his 'bark being worst than his bite’.”

He was right to be on edge. Pike's face fell and he went rigid; he appraised Una seriously and didn't like what he saw, he could never tell when she was pulling his leg. "You wouldn't."

Una smiled sweetly. “Try me."

Chris had seen that look before, from the many occasions when his first officer had challenged him whenever he’d insisted on leading an away mission, or more recently simply when he wanted to leave the ship. Una was deadly serious and there was no talking her down, not now she had power over him.

Pike was starting to realise just how much power she held in her hands. His fell even further when he imagined what his next trip to sick-bay would be like… Phil would poke him full of holes just for the sheer hell of it.

"You're evil." Pike muttered back. Horror was etched all over his face as he realised just how hard he would have to work to stay out of Boyce’s clutches.

Una shrugged half heartedly and answered in matter of fact tone. "I suppose you'll just have to stop getting injured, then Phil won't have a chance for revenge.”

Pike ended up smiling despite the situation, it was just like his first officer to spectacularly push him into this corner. She was forcing him to be more careful or else earn a tongue lashing from Boyce. The cherry on top of the cake was having to watch her smug expression, even though he wanted to look wounded because of her betrayal he couldn’t bring himself too.

"You think you're so clever..." He muttered eventually.

Una laughed heartily. She rolled over and propped herself up on her elbow, her hair fell into his face, and her gaze was shining and gleeful. She slowly lowered herself towards his face, teasingly stopping just shy of his lips.

"I am actually." She whispered. 

Chris didn't have a response for her. His brain was whirring and his body froze completely; this was a complete 180 and something he hadn’t expected after Una’s earlier refusal. Surely she wouldn’t be so evil as to simply tease him and walk away? He stared into Una's eyes and then moved his bewildered gaze down to her lips; he could feel his heart begin to thud in his chest and a warm flush crept up his neck.

Una smirked when she noted the physical reactions to her proximity. She finally decided to put Chris out of his misery and leant down to plant her lips firmly against his. She began her assault and raked her hands through his hair, earning a shiver in response.

She teased his mouth open with her tongue, expertly drawing out a moan from him when she flicked her tongue into his mouth. It didn't take long for the kiss to turn molten and everything began moving hot and fast. Chris' hands were all over her, pawing at her breasts and grounding their bodies against one another. 

She moaned deeply when he bit her lip, and he smiled against her mouth with the full knowledge that he had just made her sound like that. Out of control. Una kicked herself mentally for starting this, she had thought she had better control, but the truth was she just couldn't keep her hands off of Chris.

He must have known she was thinking too much as suddenly his hand moved from her breast down to her pants, pressing against her wet panties and causing her to buck against him to get more. When his hand slipped down _beneath_ her trousers it took care of her introspection. 

'Screw it.' Una thought and all her hesitancy died immediately, she clambered on top of Chris and everything dialled up a notch. She ground her hips against his swelling member, swallowing down his groan of pleasure and opening her mouth to his further. Chris’ hands landed on her hips and he guided her up his body.

Una lost herself in the kiss, giving herself over to it and the feeling of running her hands through Chris' hair, down his muscled chest and the feeling of his rock hard length beneath her groin. As they continued to get entangled in one another Una forgot about the injury, forgot about his near death experience and just focussed on making her and Chris feel alive. Besides what Boyce didn't know wouldn't kill him; she would just have to be careful to not break the Captain.

_Finis_


End file.
